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¶ … play Trifles? Analyze and support the theme by giving examples from the story
Susan Glaspell's play Trifles is intended to illustrate women's superior 'ways of knowing,' and the callousness of males towards women. It asserts the importance, even the superiority of the feminine perspective. Author Susan Glaspell is called one of the "first feminists" of American theater, and Trifles was groundbreaking when it was first produced in 1921. Her "works deal with the theme of the 'new woman,' presenting a hero who represents the American pioneer spirit of independence and freedom" ("Susan Glaspell: Biography," English Teacher's Network, 2012). The play depicts the investigation of a murder scene in which a man, John Wright, has been killed in his home. His wife Minnie is the most likely suspect. The police gather evidence, while two women, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, look over the Wright home. Over the course of the one-act play, it gradually becomes clear to the women, but not to the men, that the murderer of John Wright is Minnie, but she was abused...
Minnie's unhappiness was ignored, just as Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peter's insights into her condition, based upon the small details of the house are ignored by the male investigators. Eventually, the women decide to hide the evidence that the men refuse acknowledge, because they believe that Minnie was justified in her actions. They also feel guilt that they did not intervene to help Minnie, before she became desperate. The women gain a sense of solidarity, as they look through Minnie's things: "Oh, I wish I'd come over here once in a while! That was a crime! That was a crime! Who's going to punish that?" The men see evidence of a poor housekeeper, but the women find evidence of utter desperation. Minnie is described as being happy and carefree before marriage, until her husband terrorized her into submission.
Ironically, at the beginning of the play,…
Works Cited
"Susan Glaspell: Biography."English Teacher's Network. [29 Apr 2012]
http://www.etni.org.il/teachers/adele/glaspell.htm
Glaspell, Susan. Trifles. 1916. Full e-text available from One Act Plays:
http://www.one-act-plays.com/dramas/trifles.html
While men ignore the kitchen as containing "nothing but kitchen things," women look for evidence precisely there because it is the only place where women are in control. As Holstein (2003) argues, women do not enter the house of Mr. Wright as a place of investigation but as a home of two human beings who have feelings. For men, what matters is the evidence and if they find one,
Trifles Susan Glaspell's one-act play Trifles is frequently anthologized, and for good reason (Makowsky 59; Cerf 103). The play differs from a traditional drama in a number of ways, including its structure and narrative content, but arguably its most important feature is it reveals who its protagonists are and the effect this character choice has on the play as a whole. Although the actions of Minnie Wright constitute the narrative focus
Trifles as Feminist Literature American drama studies often neglect the influence of female writers and focus primarily on writers such as Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams, and Arthur Miller. However, women often worked in collaboration with their male playwright counterparts, and in fact, helped to establish and propagate various dramatic movements in the United States. Among these influential women playwrights was Susan Glaspell, who along with Eugene O'Neill, George "Jig" Cram Cook,
In reality, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are even more invested in the investigation than the men, because they demonstrate an attention to detail that the men lack. By the time the men return from their fruitless investigations, the women have determined both why and how Mrs. Wright murdered her husband, and they even come to the decision not to supply the evidence without ever alerting the men. Furthermore,
TRIFLES by Susan Glaspell In "Trifles" by Susan Glaspell, the characteristics of the women and the attitudes to their men and their own roles in life are gradually illuminated. The intensity of the situation, in effect two women judging the life of the third, absent party, provides a context in which Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peter grow significantly, in character, strength and importance. The principle characters in the play are effectively the
Trifles In Susan Glaspell's play, "Trifles," a main theme is that of gender's roles in society. The women had to take care of the household, while the men's role was as public figure. The canary is one of the most important symbols in the play, because it represents the freedom of Mrs. Minnie Wright, before and after the marriage. The author describes her as being full of life "She used to wear